Cicero
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day seventy-six: CBT #5 Rachel's being a good friend to Finn, but it's getting to be painful to do so.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third cycle Now here comes cycle 4! :D_

_Happy New Year!_

_Had the idea for this seven part series a few weeks ago, got all excited, and now here it is :D The whole thing will come to make new sense in the end ;)_

_Today:_ **_The Cell Block Tango Set:_ Part 5 of 7: Cicero [Rachel, Finn]**

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**"Cicero"  
Rachel, Finn**

She knew it would take a while for him to get back on his feet after what had happened, with Quinn, and Puck, and the baby he'd gone on for months thinking was his. She knew it would be hard, and she was fully committed to standing by him through all of it.

Part of it was inevitably tied to her feelings for him. That was always bound to come up. As much as she could deny it, or admit it, she had told him the truth not only because he needed to know, but also for the simple reason that she liked him, and this was a way in. Still, she could excuse it with the fact that Finn did deserve to know. After the excitement of Sectionals and the following celebration period had dialled down, the aftermath had really hit Finn. Rachel was good and ready to see him along. All he had to do was to call on her, and she'd be there for him as soon as humanly possible. She could tell he was thankful for having her there, even if he couldn't say it in so many words. He'd look at her and she'd know… he was saying thank you. It would make her heart flip whenever she'd see it.

The holidays were going to be hard, she could tell. She imagined he would be the type to get excited for Christmas, and especially this year he would have spent the holidays with Quinn, taking care of her, for the baby… But instead he'd be alone with his mother… no more Quinn, no more baby… just lies, deception…

So she'd gone into overdrive on being available to him if he needed her. She didn't want to overdo it, knowing too much presence wouldn't do any good. They had become closer friends for it. That was still what they were, friends, and for now she knew that was all they could be. With the new year, there was chance for renewal, they could both feel it.

Finn was getting better, and Rachel felt maybe he was ready to move along. And the best way to prove this was one evening that would be just about them, not Quinn, Puck, or the baby. When she suggested the idea, an evening between friends, he'd agreed, and she'd begun to plan just about immediately.

She knew it wasn't a date, so she tried to keep that in mind as she made the plans. When it was all set, she was proud. It would be a good time for them both.

She should have seen right away that this would not go well from the moment they'd met up. He looked distracted, but she was distracted too, on a whole other level. They had kicked off the evening well enough, with dinner. Only as the meal progressed, she had started to pick up on the theme of his distraction. Once again, his mind was on Quinn.

She tried to steer him back on track… more than once, attempting to salvage the evening. By dessert, she had come to see it was useless. He wasn't going to let it go. From what she had picked up on, Quinn had a doctor's appointment that day, one they'd both known about for a while. Somehow the date had stuck in his head, and when he'd woken up late, his mind had kicked into some mode where he didn't remember that he wasn't meant to be there anymore… not until he'd reached the doctor's office. He'd turned around and gone home, wounds torn open all over again.

Rachel didn't want to be upset by this. She knew it was probably very painful for him. But there was still that part of her that was frustrated at the idea of her perfect friends' evening to be ruined. The mood had been pulverized, and nothing was going to bring it back.

After they'd paid the bill, she'd done what needed to be done and cut the evening short, sending him home.

She'd come home disappointed, frustrated. She didn't want to be mean to him. But she was starting to wonder if she should take a step back from him. It was ringing in her mind, how Quinn had said that now neither of them had Finn. He needed more time, and she couldn't be there with him through all of it without putting herself in a position to be hurt too.

THE END


End file.
